Veterinary Medicine
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Professional Overview
Veterinarians play a major role in the health of our society by caring for animals and using their expertise and education to protect and improve human health as well. They diagnose, treat, and research medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and other animals. A veterinarian medical program is a four-year doctoral-level program. Veterinarians are required to complete a year, year and half long post-graduate internship or training program.
Veterinarians work in a variety of settings, including private clinics or hospitals. Others travel to farms or work in settings such as laboratories, classrooms, or zoos.
General Pre-Veterinary Prerequisite Coursework; Wright State Specific Courses
Most veterinary medical schools require the following prerequisites:
- Anatomy and Physiology (with lab): 8 semester hours (ANT 3100, ANT 3120 or BIO 3050)
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: 3 semester hours (BMB 4210, 4230)
- General Biology (with lab): 8 semester hours (BIO 1120, BIO 1150)
- General Chemistry (with lab): 8 semester hours (CHM 1210, CHM 1220)
- Humanities and Social Science Electives: 16 Credit Hours
- Microbiology: BIO 3100 & 3110 or BIO 2200
- Organic Chemistry (with lab): 8 semester hours (CHM 2110, CHM 2120)
- Physics (with lab): 8 semester hours (PHY 1110, PHY 1120)
- Public Speaking: COM 1010
Additional science electives may include, immunology, cell biology, genetics, animal science, ecology, or environmental science.
Note. Individual requirements vary by school. It is important to research individual health professions programs for specific requirements. Contact the Pre-Health Advisor for assistance.
Academic Major
Any major is acceptable if you complete the required prerequisite coursework, recommended extracurricular activities, and present a strong application to medical school. Medical school seeks students who have demonstrated they can do well, particularly in the prerequisite courses, and who followed their academic interest.
Pre-medical students often major in one of the following since many of the prerequisite courses are part of the academic major requirements:
- Biological Science
- Biochemistry
- Chemistry
- Neuroscience
- Physics
- Psychology
- Public Health
Presenting a Competitive Application
Students should check with the schools they plan to apply to directly for application requirements, information, and timelines. Admissions to health profession schools tend to be very competitive. While there is “no magical formula” for gaining admissions, general expectations include:
- Strong academic performance (3.6 or higher) in both your cumulative and prerequisite courses.
- Scoring at or above the 50th percentile (150 or higher in both the verbal and quantitative sections) and a 4 or higher in the analytical writing on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Many veterinary medical programs required the GRE; however, not all do. Some accept the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) in place of the GRE.
- Veterinary medical schools require extensive familiarity with the field of veterinary medicine to gain an appreciation for and understanding of the profession. Students should:
- shadow veterinarians in several different specialties (companion animals, food animals, equine, exotic, and research) to gain a realistic perspective of the profession.
- volunteer or work with veterinarian(s) to gain a realist perspective of the profession.
- gain experience with a variety of veterinary career paths to develop your knowledge of the profession.
- get involved in community service, volunteer experiences, and co- and extracurricular activities on campus.
- seek leadership responsibility, such as employment, church, community, and school organizations including coaching, tutoring, and mentoring.
- conduct research (however, not required), which will help you understand scientific literature, how research is conducted, and be able to distinguish credible research.
- demonstrate the ability to balance school and responsibilities outside the classroom demonstrating your ability to handle the difficult demands of veterinary school
- exhibit strong interpersonal skills, an ability to work in teams and among a diverse group of people, and a desire to help others; be able to communicate and listen effectively and possess skills to express your thoughts and ideas.
